Alone
by PrincessLeeLee7
Summary: Feeling abandoned by friends and family during the holiday season, Eleanor runs off without a trace, and only one person might know where to look.
1. Chapter 1

**Just a little Christmas story for you guys! I hope you all had Merry Christmas, and I wish you many more to come!**

**I do not own the Chipmunks and Chipettes.**

Summary: Feeling abandoned by friends and family during the holiday season, Eleanor runs off without a trace, and only one person might know where to look.

Alone

Chapter 1

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

The red and skinny second hand upon the clock stroked the six, going on to the seven.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

The seven was stroked, on to the eight.

Anxiously, two fervent brown eyes watched the clock attentively, her face fixed in an awkward gawk. Her books were clasped tightly in her arms against her chest, only fifteen seconds remaining before the bell would ring to dismiss the apprehensive students to Winter Break. This blonde-haired chick was the most apprehensive of them all; her behind was literally at the edge of her seat, her legs propped in the position to race everybody to the door. There was no time to be wasted; there was so much to do!

Tick. Tock. BIIIING.

Before the teacher could open his mouth to wish everybody a safe and wonderful holiday break, the sixteen-year-old blonde was out the door and the first to enter the empty hallway decked out in Christmas decorations for the special holiday occasion. She raced to her locker on the opposite side of the school, dodging students left and right, tearing down school flyers, her book bag hitting her from behind with each stride. Some students questioned her energy as she ran pass; others thought she was crazy. Indeed, they were all wrong.

Eleanor was in fact, in the holiday spirit.

Upon turning the corner down another hallway, she gazed upon some familiar faces, a broad smile spreading across her face. "Brittany! Jeanette!" she greeted as she jogged her way over. "We're finally outta school! Aren't you guys excited?"

The brunette exchanged glances with her blue-eyed sister, and the two soon joined each other in a fit of laughter. "Oh Ellie, of course we are!" Jeanette exclaimed as she bit her lip to keep down any more laughing.

"But we're not as excited as you are, little sis!" the blue-eyed Brittany blurted, her laughter regaining strength as she ruffled Eleanor's hair. "You're always so crazy this time of year! Saint Nick might be a little jealous!"

Eleanor rolled her eyes and scoffed before she answered with, "There's so much to do, so much Holiday spirit wanting to explode out of me!" she attempted to convince her older sisters. "You know, download Christmas music, making Gingerbread houses, putting up the tree, and being with friends and family!" she listed upon her sweaty fingers. "With school in the way, I couldn't get anything done, but NOW is the time!"

Jeanette's green eyes grew wide with each word that spilled from Eleanor's mouth, unable to fathom such energy. "Wow Eleanor, I've never seen you so… cheery, and full of… bliss!"

"If only I could share this energy with you guys," she replied through an airy, dream-like sigh. "I have a feeling this is going to be one of the best Holiday seasons ever!" she bellowed, her cheeks beginning to turn red. "And best of all, me and Theodore might be going Christmas shopping together this year!" she felt the need to mention as her gaze drifted over her shoulder to notice a not-so-chubby Theodore attempting to pry his locker open, each attempt reading failure, his green eyes planted to his combination lock.

"And don't worry, Ellie," Brittany began, "we'll have our Girls' Shopping Day the following weekend!"

Eleanor smiled to her heart's content and heaved a quick sigh. "Well, I have to get my stuff from my locker! I'll be out in a bit!" and with that, she continued on to her locker, her sisters left baffled by the spirited Eleanor.

Once more, Eleanor weaved and bobbed her way through the crowd, her books tight in her grasp. Considering the fact that school would be out for two weeks, the students made no hesitation to clear the halls, the majority of the students already gone, so maneuvering through the hallways was made easy for Eleanor. She turned down the hall that held her locker, but in an instant, she ran into someone head on, sending her and the other student to the ground, her books flying through the air and dropping upon her head with a crash.

"Ellie, I'm sorry!" the voice exclaimed as he stood to his feet, his eyes wide with sorrow. The boy reached out a hand to help the dizzy girl to her feet, her vision just a bit jumbled, but she managed to see the kind pupil. Through her hazy vision, she recognized it as the green-eyed Theodore, a smile appearing on her face once more as he pulled her effortlessly to her feet.

Through a blushing face, Eleanor shied herself away and spoke. "Theodore, I'm sorry! I was in such a rush-"

"It's fine!" he assured, his hands still having a hold of hers. Suddenly, realizing so, he slowly pulled away and shoved his hands in his jeans' pocket. "I want to get out of here, too, but sadly, I have a Foods test I have to make up for Ms. Blevins," he replied with a heavy sigh, referring to his Family Consumer Science class.

Eleanor frowned and scoffed. "I'm sorry you have to spend the first part of your break taking a test!"

In all honesty, it wasn't such a great deal for Theodore, although he could think of many other meaningful activities he could spend his hard-earned time on. "Eh, it's alright. It should only take me fifteen minutes to finish!"

The two uttered heart-felt laughter when Eleanor, quickly ending hers, took Theodore by the shoulder and lead him down the hallway. "So," she began before stopping him midway through a step. "I was wondering if…" she paused, her cheeks turning the brightest red possible. "… You know… if you weren't busy, would want to hang out tomorrow and do some Christmas shopping, maybe?"

Avidly, Theodore took Eleanor's hand and caressed it tightly, but in that same motion, a frown crept upon his face, his eyes avoiding hers. "I'd love to, Ellie, but…" he too paused in mid-sentence, swallowing anything that held him back from telling her. "I kinda have… plans this weekend… with Tricia…" she admitted slowly. "You remember Tricia from Biology, right?"

All at once, Eleanor's heart fell to the pit of her stomach, but she fought to keep a somewhat pleasing smile on her face. "Oh that's cool!" she spoke cheerfully, however, thinking the direct opposite. "Yeah, I know her! She seats right behind me in that class."

The sweet and caring Eleanor was never envious or spiteful of the girls Theodore infrequently spent time with - by him losing a significant amount of weight over the summer and all, he attracted more girls than ever - but when it came to Tricia Greene, there was no one she was more jealous of, considering the fact that she knew Theodore took an interest in Tricia… while Eleanor took a heavy interest in Theodore. _"So what if she's slightly smarter than me? Who cares if there's not a blemish on her tanned skin, and her black hair makes her silver eyes stand out magnificently? Who cares? Maybe Theodore cares. I'm just as extraordinary! But can Theodore see that?"_

Eleanor knew it was wrong to feel such emotions towards a person, but she couldn't help but to think that there was something Theodore strongly admired about her; maybe something so deep he was willing to date her over Eleanor. "Well, I hope you enjoy yourself with Tricia!" she exclaimed through a forced smile, her jaw clamped tight, her mandible become sore.

Theodore, who was oddly less than enthusiastic, Eleanor noticed, smiled back. "Thanks Ellie. B-b-but we can still hang out tonight, if that's not a problem with you," he proposed with wide eyes, his facial expression full of hope and urge.

Eleanor nodded with no doubt in her mind. "Of course we can! That'll be great…"

An awkward silence soon filled the area between the two when Eleanor, the brave soul, spoke up. "Well, I'm pretty sure Ms. Blevins is wondering where you are, huh?"

With a gasp, Theodore chuckled and raced off down the hall, waving about to Eleanor as he did. "Oh man, I almost forgot! Thanks Ellie, I'll see you later!"

Before Eleanor had time to wave back, Theodore was out of sight around the corner, leaving Eleanor a bit out of spirit. "Just a slight setback, but I still have other things to look forward to, right?"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"There's so much to do!" Eleanor suddenly cheered as she burst her way through the front door of the Miller's household, throwing her bag upon the cream-colored couch. "Gosh, I don't even know where to begin!" she exclaimed as she turned to face her sisters.

"Well," Jeanette began before rubbing her chin in thought. "I was going to start my homework so it can be finished before break… but seeing as I have none, we can get started on those cookies, I guess!" she suggested with a wide smile. "Are you free, Britt?"

Pulling off her cap to expose curly auburn hair, she nodded slowly with a content smile smeared across her face. "Of course I am! But you do know there's nine days until Christmas, right?"

"Hello!" Eleanor bellowed aloud as she pranced her way over to an empty space in the living room. "As you can see, we're a little late putting up a tree!"

"A little?" Jeanette asked with an arched eyebrow. "You mean we're late by a significant amount of time!"

"Exactly, so maybe we can get it up this weekend, hopefully!"

"What, no more plans with Theo?" Brittany asked with an abnormal look plastered on her face, seeing it was quite odd that the two wouldn't be spending any time together.

Eleanor shrugged heavily before falling to the couch in a heap. "Theodore decided to… well; hang with Tricia this weekend instead." She settled her head gently upon on the couch's cushion and looked to the ceiling as if examining it corner to corner.

"Someone doesn't seem to be too happy about this," Brittany teased with a slick smile, her eyes narrowing in on her distraught sister. She kindly took a seat next to her and wrapped a warming arm around her tiny shoulders, pulling her in close to her. "You don't care for Tricia too much, do you?"

Rolling her brown eyes, Eleanor replied with, "she's alright, you can say, I guess…"

Overhearing Eleanor's hardly audible words, Jeanette crossed her arms tightly over her chest, not giving in in to what Eleanor was handing away. "Really?" she probed.

With that, Eleanor scoffed horrendously before jumping to her feet. "I just want to rip that girl to bits and spread those bits across the landfill!" By the end of her rant, her sisters were beyond shocked at the sudden behavior, and even Eleanor shocked herself, her face growing red with embarrassment. "Excuse me!"

"Ellie, it's cool if you don't care for her," Brittany assured with a nod of her head.

Eleanor was gracious to take some advice from her older sister and listened closely to what she had to say.

"And trust me… Jeanette and I know how much you like Theodore," and with that, she casted a wink, putting Eleanor in a whole new state of shock, her brown eyes wide, her jaw dropped to her chest.

"You know?" she whispered to the pink-attired and purple-arrayed sisters, and by the looks on their faces, Eleanor could tell they knew she fancied the green-clad boy. She hid her paling face behind her quivering hands and released a cry of anguish. "Is it that obvious?" she couldn't help but to ask.

Jeanette shook her head and giggled a single time. "Not at all! We only know because we're your sisters! It's only natural that it'll be obvious to us!"

Gradually, Eleanor's face recaptured its peachy color, her hands bringing themselves down to her lap. "Promise not to tell? I have to tell him on my own!"

Her sisters each raised a right hand in the air solemnly swore to never pry their lips when Theodore's name was mentioned. "You have our word, Ellie," Jeanette reassured.

Eleanor giggled about, her feelings washing themselves away. "Now that that's out of the way, how about we get started on those cookies?"

After some time of gathering the needed ingredients to make the frosted sugar cookies, in a matter of minutes, the kitchen was covered with flour, sugar, and egg shells, the floor becoming slippery to the step, but the spirited Eleanor, along with Jeanette, was enjoying every second of the bonding moment, right down to the jiffy. Unfortunately, they couldn't include the oldest of the sisters in the fun, for a good majority of her time was spent chatting away with a red-attired boy through her cell phone, who virtually said anything and everything that made her cheeks blush a tickle-me pink. The only thing Eleanor was satisfied with was that she even considered hanging around to watch her sisters toss clouds of flour at one another instead of locking herself in her individual bedroom. However, she would give the occasional, "Shut up, I'm on the phone!" every so often, which didn't quite please the blonde. Other times, the girls would urge their sister to join in, but would also get the occasional, "I'll be off the phone in a sec." And slowly, the seconds turned into minutes, and after politely asking a third time, Eleanor plainly accepted defeat.

And just when the fun was at its peak, Jeanette's cell phone began to ring within in her pocket, but was unable to reach it with her pasty fingers. So, she grabbed a napkin and wiped the mess from her hands to answer. "Hello? Oh, hi Simon!" she greeted ecstatically, her green eyes filling with spark. Eleanor could her Simon's maturing voice through the phone, and with each sentence he spoke, Jeanette happily replied back, soon disregarding Eleanor and the raw cookie dough all together.

Eleanor bellowed a vexed sigh, her loving smile fading away instantaneously. "Jean, we haven't even cut the cookies out yet, remember?" Eleanor called.

Jeanette whirled around on her heels and smiled. Covering up the speaker to her phone, she called back, "I'll be done in a few, I promise!" and practically sprinted her way the stairs, her wispy brown hair following gracefully behind.

"A few what? Hours?" Eleanor mumbled bitterly under her breath. Oddly, to Eleanor, it was silent, no other voices heard. "Oh…" she uttered in the sudden realization that Brittany had gone away as well. She couldn't recall when, but didn't bother to figure it out. Her eyes started to gaze around the disordered kitchen and mustered out a mournful moan. Being lonely was absolutely not her forte, but she trudged through every moment that would have been laugh-worthy to share with her sisters, but instead, enjoyed them by herself. And through this, she managed to get the cookies ready for the neighbors by nightfall, her sisters completely disremembering the plans they had in store.

The bitterly cold air swept across her face as she made her way down the neighborhood to hand out said cookies, her spirited soul taking a drastic drop, but prepped her for more plans to come. "Not to worry," she spoke to herself as she readjusted her grip on the several bowls of Tupperware full of cookies. "Just another… setback, I mean, my sisters have lives to live, too, right?" she attempted to persuade herself. "As soon as I'm done handing these out, I can go home, call Theodore and make sure he's still free for tonight!" She sighed at the fair thought and continued on to complete her deliveries.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Exhausted from the deliveries, the blonde, but still high in spirits Eleanor opened the front door to her abode and slowly slipped off her shoes and jetted up the stairs to her designated bedroom and took a tight hold of her cell phone laying across her bed. "Finally, I get to spend some time with my best friend…" She fell to her bed and dialed his number by heart and listened for an answer.

"Hello?" a charming voice answered, her heart skipping an entire beat.

"Theodore, it's me," she replied before taking a piece of hair and twirling around her index finger.

Through the phone, Theodore began to chuckle to his heart's content and let out a sigh of what seemed to be relief. "Ellie, it's you! For a minute there, I didn't think you would call!" he exclaimed as he too fell into the living room couch, placing a hand behind his head.

Eleanor giggled. "Now why would I forget to call my best friend in the whole world?" she asked softly. She bit her lip in anticipation of his answer.

"You're right," he answered swiftly. "Only a person as caring as you are wouldn't forget a single step!"

The two once again shared heart-felt laughter that could be heard from down the block. No laughter on Earth could be compared to these two; all coming straight from the heart.

Just on the other end of the phone at the Seville residents, Theodore, along with his brothers, gathered around the Christmas tree, all seeing what the mischievous Alvin was up to as he practically swam his way through the carefully wrapped gifts. "So, how are you?" Theodore asked sweetly as he gazed over Alvin's shoulder, who continued to dig through the piles of presents.

Eleanor sighed before kicking off her shoes at the edge of the bed. "I'm just fine, thank you for asking. How's my best friend?"

"He's doing great!"

The red-cheeked teen gave yet another giggle. "Gosh, can you believe it's almost Christmas?" the ecstatic teenager asked. "It's my favorite time of the year!"

"It's coming up really close; closer than I thought!" he replied as he dodged a wrapped present Alvin had thrown over his shoulder. "I've done my shopping for Dave and the guys; all I need to do is finish up for you and the girls!"

"Honestly, Teddy, do me and my sisters need anything?" she asked contently. "I mean, I'm flattered that you're thinking about us and all, but-"

"No buts!" Theodore interrupted through a fit of chuckles. "You girls deserve nothing but the best from us!"

Eleanor grew silent, her entire face turning a hot pink. _"Theodore has got to be one of the sweetest boys I've met,"_ she instantly thought.

"The one place I always shop for you guys is Downtown Westmont," Theodore decided to disclose.

"Oh Theodore, I love visiting Downtown Westmont for Christmas!" Eleanor cheered as she jumped to her feet from her bed. "The Christmas lights are to die for, and it gives me that warm feeling inside!"

Indeed, after Black Friday had blown over, the city of Westmont would be later decked out in bright white lights seen from many miles away that hung from bare trees and skyscrapers, the tallest building in Downtown Westmont baring a wreath that stood three stories high. Once in a while, when snow flurries began to fall upon the city, the sight would be beyond breathtaking on the land full of marvel and joy coming only once a year, sadly. And for Eleanor, the feeling she received from such wonder never faded away.

"Downtown is a beautiful place to visit during the holiday seasons," Theodore agreed.

"You know," Eleanor began, lowering her voice radically, taking extra precaution to keep her sisters from hearing her secret. "When I'm by myself during this time of year – mostly when Brittany and Jeanette have plans - I just buy a round-trip train ticket just to see the white lights in Downtown … you should try it sometimes," she suggested with a wide smile. "It's the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen!"

"But I know a few other things that are just as gorgeous as Downtown during Christmas," Theodore remarked slyly, his cheeks giving off a heated red.

Eleanor raised an eyebrow as asked, "Now what would that be?"

"Oh nothing," Theodore dismissed, changing his mind completely on the mood switch.

Eleanor shrugged her shoulders, dismissing Theodore's odd behavior, but then figured to ask a burning question. "So… I know it's pretty soon to ask, but is it all right if I come over tonight, y-y-you know, just to hang out?"

Hearing her through the phone, Theodore's nosy brothers, the red-attired Alvin and blue-clad Simon exchanged unsure glances. "What about Tricia?" Alvin asked with a dumbfounded expression as he raised his head from the sea of presents.

"I know, I know!" Theodore whined, pressing the phone to his chest to prevent Eleanor from hearing. His face read immediate guilt, and his brothers could see it. "I know I promised her before I promised Eleanor!"

"So, what are you going to do about this one?" the middle brother Simon asked as he crossed his arms tightly over his chest, giving him yet another look of hesitance.

Theodore gave off a mere shrug. "I want to see Eleanor more!" he spat with wide eyes. "Tricia's a great person… but she's getting kinda annoying!" he explained. "I'll tell her to call me at 7, but she'll call at 6:30!"

"But you know you have to do the right thing, you know," Simon replied. "You promised Tricia first, and by the looks of it, she should be coming any minute now."

Alvin, who at first paid no mind to Theodore's dilemma, suddenly gave his two-cents. "Simon's right! You won't want two girls coming over your house at the same time!" He abruptly shuttered at a past thought. "Trust me… it's not good…"

With a sigh of sorrow, Theodore put the phone back to his ear. "Um… right now isn't such a good time…"

"Can I come in an hour?"

"No… I mean, today isn't such a good day. I kinda made plans with Tricia already…"

Once again, Eleanor's weakening heart sank to her stomach, occupying it for quite some time. "But, I thought you said it would be okay and-"

"I know what I said," he spoke, cutting her short, "and I'm sorry I promised you, but I made plans with her yesterday night to come over tonight."

Eleanor gradually fell silent, her brown eyes glossing over with tears. "Well, t-t-then it's fine!" she convinced through a pained smile. "W-w-we can hang out some other time, right?"

"Of course… some other time…"

With the back of her finger, Eleanor brushed away a fallen tear, but tried to conceal her whimpers within her throat. "Okay then, goodbye," and with hesitation, she sat her phone to the side, curling herself into a ball in the middle of her bed. "Well… yet another setback… a big one…"

"Great… I kinda messed that up, huh?" Theodore asked his older brothers before closing his phone shut, setting it on the living room coffee table.

"Yes!" the elated Alvin suddenly blurted, putting Theodore aback. "Yes, yes, yes!"

"Alvin!"

"What?" he asked as he pulled himself up away from the tree. "I was cheering because I think I found that custom-made Snapback Dave got me this year!" he exclaimed as he shook this particular box about in hopes to get a sound from it. "I'm so gonna wear it before he notices!"

Simon handed off an exasperated sigh and turned to face his guilt-ridden brother, placing a hand upon his back. "Theodore, you were simply mixed up, right?"

All Theodore could do was shrug at that point. "I don't know! I want to be with Tricia, but me and Ellie-" he paused abruptly, a content smile making its way to his face. "I can talk for days to Elli: Tricia and I, on the other hand can only talk for about an hour! I hope Ellie isn't too upset with me. Do you think she is?"

"No!" the distraught Alvin roared as he threw the unwrapped box to the ground. "Just damn underwear!"

Simon wrinkled his nose and spat, "Alvin, please! I'm trying to talk to Theodore!"

For once, Alvin considered putting his problems aside and directed his attention to his troubled brother, who obviously was in need of some helpful advice; or in this case, some of Alvin's advice. "She'll get over it in no time!" Alvin assured as he swatted the air with his hand. "It'll all be news to her once you two get together and hang!"

"You think so?"

"I know so! Or… she could also not want to talk to you for six months and totally disregard every little call you make to her cell phone and tell her friends how horrible you are!" he cried aloud, referring to his own past experiences. Coming to a realization of what he said, he bit his lip, chuckling nervously. "But this is Eleanor we're talking about; she's a sweet as a fresh pair of shoes!"

The irritated Simon reached for his glasses and briskly cleaned them with the edge of his shirt. "Well, thank you Alvin, for your… interesting input…"

In the midst of frustration, Theodore slid to the floor and hid his face between his knees. "What have I done?"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

As the sun rose over the horizon line, coating the city with its blinding rays, Eleanor was the first to see it since she had been up way before the fresh burst of dawn. Her plans were as simple as walking: shop for friends and family and wrap them in the most decorative wrapping she could find. And that evening, she would deliver her presents to the boys. Her sisters would tag along, but after several attempts at waking up the sleeping beauties, she gave up, but like before, her spirits were still up there, but just not like before. So, it was all up to plan B; hopefully have Theodore be free of any plans

However, upon calling him, he mentioned he would be busy with no time to spare for later. Of course Eleanor was heartbroken to find that she would be shopping alone this year, but nothing could bring down this girl's sky high Christmas spirit.

Even though some arrangements weren't turning out as planned, she was proud that this new plan was all mapped out, and there was no possible way it would be ruined, even if her sisters or her friends weren't around in her company. So with her plan in mind, she nonchalantly strolled to the plaza, having a good mindset of what she wanted to give her sisters and friends.

Upon entering the plaza, Eleanor walked through the doors of the first store available to her, her eyes immediately landing on a present that the anxious Alvin had been yearning for since the beginning of time. And lucky for Eleanor, this particular present was the last of its kind, which she was pretty grateful for.

As for Simon's gift, which took some careful time and consideration, Eleanor hoped for anything that he would at least tolerate it, or even bother looking at it. For the most part, this specific present did come in his favorite color, so maybe Eleanor had somewhat of a chance of seeing a smile upon his face.

Seeing as Eleanor shopped for the boys' presents first, versus shopping for her sisters' presents doesn't necessarily mean she's forgotten about them. They're her sisters; she naturally knew what they would want, so she saved them for last.

But, the hardest present of all was saved until she would figure out the others; Theodore's present. Yes, she can simply by the amateur chief of another cookbook for the third year in a row, but she knew that this year had to be diverse from the rest. How would it make her look if she merely gave him a third cookbook? _"A lousy friend, maybe,"_ she thought to herself before scooping up a limited edition copy in her grasp. She turned the pages and skimmed them quickly and swiftly sat it down back on the rack. "Oh, come on Ellie, you have to think harder than that! There has to be something in this store he must want!" she ranted as she marched her way up and down the aisles of the less-than-crowded store. Her wondering eyes browsed the shelves to see what they had to offer. Obviously, it would be nothing to Theodore's interest, of course. But then, it happened. As quick as lightning, her eyes landed upon… a picture frame, an average picture frame that had nothing special to it, or so Eleanor thought for just that brief moment. She lifted it from its spot and examined it closely, and while examining this less-than-special frame, she spotted a set of stencils not too far away from where she spotted it. There were stencils of all font types, and conveniently, some markers and paint sat near. In that moment, Eleanor sparked an idea.

"Eleanor, what the heck are you doing in there?" the agitated Brittany called that evening as she pounded repeated against Eleanor's bedroom door. The blonde had practically locked herself in her room getting together friends and family's gifts and such ever since she arrived home from her all-day Christmas shopping. "You've been trapped in there for hours! Is everything okay in there?"

"Everything's alright!" Eleanor called back as she rushed her way to the door, only to poke her tired eyes through the crack of the door. "Just finishing up some last minute presents," she persuaded with a wide smile.

Brittany raised an eyebrow and placed a hand to her cocked hip. "Are you sure?" she questioned with uncertainty. "You seem pretty tired there, you know!"

"Oh, Brittany, don't worry about me!" Eleanor assured with a giggle. "I should be done by four o'clock this evening!"

It was then that Brittany's eyes grew wide with shock, a scoff escaping her. "You do know it's almost seven o'clock, right?" she informed, her face twisted in the upmost confusion. "You're a little behind on time, aren't you?"

A ferocious gasp left Eleanor as she slammed the door to her bedroom and began to scramble around, worrying Brittany to an extent of a racing heart. "Ellie, I'm kinda worried about you!"

"No, it's just that I wanted to give the boys their presents tonight! I had no idea how much time had flew by!" she replied as she stuffed the gifts into a sack. How could time have possibly left her? Maybe it was that time to get a clock in her room. She stormed out of the room and raced down the steps to slip on her fur-covered boots.

"What did you get them this year?" Brittany couldn't help but to ask as she pranced her way to Eleanor's side. "I got Alvin a red P-coat with yellow stitching, got Simon some shaded glasses for this upcoming summer, and I got Theodore diamond studs, for when he got his ears pierced for his birthday!"

"I picked up a few things. Hopefully, they'll like them!" was all Eleanor could even sputter as she reached for her jacket. "Well, I have to go! See you in a bit!"

Her gaze read perplexity as she watched her sister race down the vacant street with presents at hand.

With each step, she grew nearer and nearer towards the Seville home, excited to see Theodore in hopes he'd find her gift remotely attractive. She took a step up to the door and knocked gently. Doing so, she heard a bit of a fuss behind the door and soon came scratching at the door. A victorious Alvin answered the door, noticeably out of breath. "I beat you Theodore!" he called over his shoulder before looking to Eleanor, smiling broadly. "Eleanor! What's up?" he greeted as he pushed the door open for her to enter. "Wanna come in?"

"Sorry, too much to do!" she replied before reaching into her sack and pulling out a gift wrapped in red with a red bow plastered at the top. She handed to Alvin and bellowed a, "Merry Christmas!" Alvin graciously took it.

"Can I open it, now?" he asked, his blue eyes shimmering with excitement.

"Go ahead!"

With no hesitation in mind, Alvin ripped the paper away from the box and tore the tape away with his teeth. He grew silent, looking into the box with the highest astonishment. "My God… is this the-"

"Snapback? Last one in stock!" she acknowledged proudly.

Alvin bit his lip with the widest of smiles, snatched off his cap and slipped the on Snapback. A perfect fit. "Eleanor, this is the best!" he cheered to his heart's content.

Eleanor sighed in satisfaction and reached in her sack for Simon's presents. "Do you mind if you give this to Simon?" she asked as she handed it to Alvin. "It's a sweatshirt. But not just any sweatshirt…"

"What kind?"

"Somehow, this one can hold up to 100 gigabytes worth of data in its zipper!"

"Wow, how nerdy," Alvin shot back as he slid it towards the Christmas tree. "But, I bet you're here to see Theodore, huh?"

Eleanor nodded about, practically giving herself a whiplash. "Yeah! I really want him to open his gift!"

Alvin stepped back into the house and called for Theodore. "Hey, someone's here for you!"

Within seconds, Theodore rushed his way down the steps and soon looked into the eyes belonging to Eleanor, his heart immediately stopping in its place. "Oh… h-h-hi Ellie," he welcomed softly, his eyes meeting every other place except her brown eyes.

"Hi Theodore," she greeted with a gratifying smile on her face, her cheeks turning red from the cold.

"What brings you here?" he asked as he leaned against the doorway, shoving a hand in his pocket. "I thought you wouldn't come."

Eleanor shrugged as she soon dug her hand inside the sack and pulled out a small rectangular box covered in gold wrapping with a tiny green bow settled in the middle. "Merry Christmas, Theodore; I hope you like it…"

Theodore drew himself back and pushed the present away, his eyes filled with shock. "Ellie, I didn't want you to get me anything this year!" he exclaimed as he bit his lip. "I have everything!" he tried to persuade.

"Well, I don't think you have this present just yet," she contradicted before placing the box in his hands, the same old smile spread from ear to ear on her reddening cheeks.

Puzzled, Theodore cautiously took the gift and punctured the middle with his thumb, tearing it slightly. At just the sight he could see, the broadest of smiles appeared on his face as he gazed up into Eleanor's smiling eyes. "Eleanor, this had to take you hours to make," he remarked as he continued to open his present, his jaw dropping at the sight of a picture of the two taken last summer, both of their grins wider than ever. Eleanor's head rested upon Theodore's shoulder as his arm extended out of shot to take the unforgettable picture, the sun beaming brightly in the background. The frame mentioned earlier was now decorated with grass-green paint and across the bottom of the frame read 'BEST FRIENDS'. Could it be that tears were swelling in Theodore? Eleanor noticed. He heaved a sigh and chuckled. "Eleanor, this is-"

"It's not a lot," she quickly mentioned. "Not compared to your brothers, at least."

"Compared to my brother's gifts, this one means so much more."

This time, Eleanor's cheeks didn't flush from the cold, but flushed a bright red from Theodore's words. "I'm glad you like it."

"You know where it's gonna go?" Theodore asked as he took it by the string and made his way back into the house near the tree. He strung the light-weight present upon the Christmas and stepped back to marvel it. "Most gorgeous thing on this tree, if I do say so myself," he commented with a chuckle.

"Theodore, you don't have to do that!" Eleanor giggled.

"But I want to…"

There soon a came a thick cloud of silence that surrounded the two, however, there was a great deal the two wanted to say to each other.

"So," Eleanor broke the silence. "Are you and the guys still gonna help us with the Christmas tree?" she asked, practically whispering.

"We wouldn't miss it for the world!"

Suddenly, after the conversation between the two had ended, two pairs of arms quickly wrapped themselves around Theodore's shoulder, startling him quite a bit. Those pairs of arms belonged to the silver-eyed Tricia, who Eleanor was shocked to see, her jaw practically low. Seeing Eleanor in the doorway, she beamed a smile full of braces and spat, "Hi Eleanor!"

Eleanor slightly waved back, and Theodore could see the pained look in her eyes. _"Thanks a bunch, Tricia…"_ he thought as he struggled to rip out of her grasp.

"Eleanor, you never told me how _hilarious_ Theodore can be! And he's the sweetest guy around!" she cheered, her grasp around Theodore tighten by the second, Theodore's entire face turning a faint blue.

"Yeah," Eleanor bitterly replied.

"You want to join us?" Tricia asked as she took Theodore's hand into hers. Eleanor's heart throbbed at the sight. "We were just watching a Christmas movie!"

"Oh really?" Eleanor questioned, her eyes turning a faint red. "So, that's why Theodore was so busy all day that he couldn't go shopping with me, huh?"

Oh yeah, this green-clad boy was practically drowning in guilt by then, so he snatched his hands away from Tricia's hold and said, "Ellie, she came here a couple of hours ago, I swear!" he exclaimed in a hushed whisper. "I was doing something else when you called!"

"Theodore, it's fine," she replied, hoping to find a way to suck in any tears that were about to cut themselves loose. "She's a really nice girl," she paused as she waved kindly to Tricia. "I can't stay any longer," Eleanor lied. "I have a lot to do, but thanks for inviting me!" She turned to Theodore, her smile fading dramatically. "Well, I have to go…" so with that, she took her sack in her grip and made her way for the sidewalk, and seeing as he back was towards him now, nothing could stop the downpour of tears hitting her jacket one at a time. "Stupid Tricia…" she mumbled coldly.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for not updating soon enough! School finals are in the way! But here's another chapter! Enjoy!**

Chapter 5

Days quickly followed behind one another, and Christmas was only three days away and the Chipettes' tree had yet to be up, all thanks to plans made beforehand or impatient sisters not in much of the holiday spirit. So with even a more weakened spirit, the determined Eleanor was ready to tackle the job.

"I know you girls are going out with the guys tonight," Eleanor acknowledged to her sisters as they readied themselves for the evening to be with The Chipmunks, "but can you guys please be back around 9:30 so we can put up the tree?" she asked at her softest. "I know you guys might not want to do it, but-"

"Eleanor!" Jeanette interrupted with a giggle. "Putting up the tree is different! There's never been a year where we all didn't put up a tree! We'll be home by 9:30 sharp!" she assured as she struggled to slip on her boots.

"Ellie, we'll just be out for a few hours, but we'll be back!" Brittany too, assured her youngest sister.

Eleanor smiled widely as she sat upon the couch and kicked up her feet behind her. "Well, I hope you guys enjoy yourself tonight! I would come, but I still-"

"-have so much to do!" Brittany and Jeanette mimicked simultaneously, making Eleanor giggle about.

From inside, the girls could hear a car horn blaring outside, indicating the boys had arrived. "So we'll be back by 9:30!" Brittany exclaimed as she made her way for the front door.

"And don't forget to remind Theodore, too! He said he would help!"

"Alright! See you later!" and with that, the older sisters were gone, leaving Eleanor to merely wait and decorate the rest of the house for the time being.

Out from storage, the prettiest of the decorations were pulled out, glowing brightly in Eleanor's brown eyes. She smiled widely and carefully began to take out the ornaments one by one, laying them all in a row. She suddenly stopped herself and gazed into one that held her reflection; a light-green one to be exact. Dread began to fill the blonde.

"What if they don't make it?" she asked herself softly.

"They no better!" her reflection contradicted herself, her eyes growing wide.

"But every other plan with them has been a complete disaster!"

"They're your sisters, and I know plans haven't been turning out like you anticipated, but keep your spirits up, girl! They'll be home and you guys can still celebrate the holidays!"

With full assurance in her heart, Eleanor nodded victoriously, stood to her feet and began to decorate the home slowly and carefully, hopefully to save time until her sister would arrive…

**9:00 p.m.**

The anxious Eleanor glanced up at the clock and sighed. "They should be here soon!" she cheered as she placed the last of the decorations along the stairs' railing. With the house decked with gold and silver and luminous white lights, the high spirited girl raced to her room and placed the presents upon the living room table, ready to wrap every individual present for her sisters.

"Of course, Brittany's wrapping has to be pink!" she giggled. "That's her favorite! And Jeanette's… a nice purple for her should do the trick!"

She took out the scissors and tape and soon got to work…

**9:35 p.m.**

Eleanor bit her lip upon gazing at the clock, her heart beginning to race a bit; she shook it off with a mere giggle. "Oh, t-t-they should be home any minute now! M-m-maybe they lost track of time!" she continued to assure herself as she began to pull out the enormous Christmas tree of storage. She looked within the worn-out box to find the artificial branches and sighed heavily.

**At the Mall: 9:45 p.m.**

"Ha, and who said you couldn't have ice cream in the winter?" Alvin cheerfully asked the group as he strolled his way through the thick crowd in the mall, licking his chocolate chip ice cream slowly.

"Alvin, you can eat ice cream whenever you're ready to!" Brittany replied as she stole a lick from his cone.

Alvin smiled broadly and scoffed. "But winter's cold, and so is ice cream, so it socially unacceptable, you see!" he attempted to explain through a fit of chuckles.

Simon smirked and rolled his eyes. "Everything seems socially unacceptable to you, Alvin!"

The red-clad boy grimaced and bit softly into his frozen treat. "Oh, be quite Simon and let me enjoy my ice cream!"

From behind the three, Jeanette and Theodore giggled about, shaking their heads. "Why didn't you go for that new mocha they're selling down at the food court?" Theodore couldn't help but to ask. "Keeps you warm!"

Alvin rolled his eyes and huffed. "That's typical, Theo! I'm being different! While everyone's going for the obviously heartwarming caffeine for this time of year, I'm going for the tastiest ice cream!"

The green-eyed Jeanette leaned in to whisper in Theodore's ear, her cheeks red from smiling.

"Oh don't worry… he'll regret it…"

**10:05 p.m.**

Upon the couch, Eleanor rocked herself back and forth, holding her knees to her chin. She fought back with all her might to keep the tears from running down her cold cheeks, her breathing broken and quivered. She placed a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear and rested her head upon the couch's seat, wiping her nose with the back of her wrist and heaving a sigh that was a dead giveaway that the tears would soon be flowing. She knew things were looking awful at that point, but decided to wait in hopes that her friends and sisters would burst through the front door, coming to Eleanor's holiday rescue…

**10:37 p.m.**

With a racing heart, Eleanor passed the living room floor where the tree was designated to sit, her lower lip bit to the point of bleeding. The strings of her heart were being tugged with betrayal, loneliness, anger, and sadness. At each glance towards the artificial tree, she had the burning urge to dump the box of its contents and begin to put up the tree herself, the urge growing stronger within her. However, this low-spirited blonde was determined to wait for her loved ones to show, even if it took her the entire night…

**11:15 p.m.**

With heart-wrenching tears flowing down her cheeks she dropped to her knees in front of the box that held the Christmas tree parts. Her heart-breaking cries rang throughout the house, the perimeter of her face turning a bright red, and the whites of her eyes bloodshot. Anger began to take over her, so then, she yanked out the parts to the artificial tree and threw them to the corner where the tree was to be put up.

"_I hate Christmas_!" she shouted hatefully and loud enough for the neighbors to hear her rant. "All it did was bring sorrow and misery if you celebrate it alone! I'm done trying! I'm done trying to make this work!"

She tied her hair in a ponytail and slammed the base of the tree against the carpeted floor.

"Brittany and Jeanette don't care! They never cared! And Theodore…" she paused, the tears in her eyes growing heavier at just the thought of his name. "I thought he would care… but he didn't care _either_…" she growled aloud. "I guess he does like Tricia better than me, huh?"

So with the minutes continuing to pass, Eleanor began to set the tree by herself. Her body shook and quivered, her cries growing softer, for her voice grew weary. Her whole face was stained with tears as she began to unfold each individual branch.

It was official; her spirit was dead and gone, and she feared that nothing could possibly bring it back…

**11:45 p.m.**

Through her sobs and whimpers, Eleanor fell to her tired knees as she gazed upon the finished Christmas tree, the glowing lights filling her swelled eyes, her reflection catching all of the ornaments. She wanted to smile, but her soul objected to the awful idea of smiling, or even grinning. The tree was gorgeous, but when loved ones weren't around to share that same warming feeling in your heart, the feeling flitters away in the air, probably never to return. She gazed upon the tree and propped her lips apart to ask, "Why?" she asked in a hoarse voice.

"Was it something I did?" she asked softly. She uttered a tiny cough. "Did I try to force holiday spirit on them? I just wanted them to be happy… but…" she drew herself away from the unresponsive tree, her mind thinking the absurd. "… maybe it's just me. Maybe they're happy, and I-I-I was just making myself miserable!"

Her realization of the holiday dilemma was enough to make her mind spin uncontrollably.

"Or maybe they just don't care! Maybe we're growing apart…"

Her ranting brought on a severe headache, so with a blurred vision, she collapsed to the floor, her blonde hair fanning out over the carpet.

**12:23 a.m.**

"How the hell could you guys let me forget?" Brittany wailed as her boot-covered foot slammed upon the accelerator of Alvin's less-than-attractive car as it roared down the intersection going 80 miles an hour.

While shopping around the mall for what seemed to be forever, Brittany's eyes finally gazed upon the clock at one particular store, her heart stopping at the time it had shown. So with that, she rushed her and her friends of out the store, leading them to where they were now.

With hands gripped tightly on the seat, the others could hardly open their mouths to acknowledge Brittany on her speeding. "Britt, m-m-maybe it's not that bad," Alvin tried his best to convince.

"No Alvin!" Brittany retaliated. "You don't understand! We've blown off virtually every holiday plan with Eleanor, and putting up the tree was something we always do together as a family!"

"We were supposed to be home three hours ago," Jeanette spoke in a low whisper. "There's no telling how upset Eleanor is right now!"

"Three hours ago?" Simon asked in disbelief as he adjusted his glasses to the bridge of his nose. "Do you guys think she'll be upset?"

"I know she will!" Brittany blurted furiously, pounding her tiny fists against the stirring wheel, her speed increasing. "I know Eleanor! She was so excited about Christmas coming up, and each little plan she had for us to do with her, we blew it off! I just _know_ she's pissed at us!"

"Especially me," Theodore's voice finally broke through.

The car grew silent as everyone shot their gaze to the quite teen, his green eyes widening.

"Why would she ever be mad at you?" Alvin asked with a chuckle. "She's never mad at you!"

Theodore rolled his eyes before falling back into his seat. "Just… some things, that's all. Brittany, we just better get there."

**12:37 p.m.**

The tiny trembling hand took a tight grasp upon the door knob, slowly twisted it, and pushed at the front door to the Miller's home. Brittany was the first to enter; horrified to see what could be going on with her little sister. Her blue eyes skimmed the perimeter of the living room, her eyes immediately falling to the decorated Christmas tree, her heart falling deeper within her stomach.

"Oh shit…" she mumbled under her breath.

She slowly stepped her way through the door with the others following, silence filling the area. Making their way through the living room, all eyes fell upon the sleeping Eleanor, one of the couch's cushion tucked underneath her head, her breathing slow and deep.

Gazing upon her face, Brittany could see her face was stained with dried-up tears, making her own eyes fill with tears. She gazed back at Jeanette, shaking her head slowly. "This is bad," she whispered softly.

It was then that Theodore broke his way from behind his brothers and made his way for the sleeping blonde, removing a strand of her hair away from her face and behind her ear. With slight hesitation, he reached for her shoulder and rested a loving hand upon it, his lip bit with uncertainty. Fighting through this uncertainty, he gently shook her shoulder, whispering her name in her ear.

After a few awkward seconds had drifted by, her brown eyes slowly fluttered open, her state of mind dazed, and the expression on her face reading confusion. She could hardly remember a thing; well, that is until she looked upon the tree, everything coming back to her in one memory sweep. Eleanor snatched her head away and looked into the boy's eyes that had awakened her, and then over to the group, where her sisters stood, practically petrified.

In an instance, her brown eyes went from dazed and confused to pure anger, the tears rushing from her eyes. "Thanks for the help, guys…"

Her impulses took over her body, which could be a valid reason why she pushed Theodore against the wall and jetted up the long flight of stairs, leaving the group dumbfounded.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The sickened sister, whose body was trembling horrendously, at that point, stood forth her younger sister's bedroom door, having a tight grasp at the doorknob.

"Eleanor, sweetie!" she called through her sobs as she attempted to twist the knob, but to use, the door being locked shut. "We're sorry, Ellie! The time, i-i-it just got away from us, and-"

"Save it!" Eleanor screamed as she punched the door with her bare fist, startling Brittany. "Save your apologies for Miss Miller for when you come in past curfew as usual!"

Brittany uttered a gasp filled with shock, her entire face turning the brightest red. "Listen here, Eleanor!" she bolted as she yanked several times at the doorknob. "Don't you dare get upset because your little plans fell apart! We tried our best to get home just to be with _you_ for the holidays, when there are other people in this world who have no one to spend the holidays with! You should be lucky!"

There came an awkward pause in the conversation, followed by footsteps coming from Eleanor's side of the door. With all her strength, which by now had withered away from her intense sobbing, Eleanor flung the door open and met gazes with her red-faced sibling, her brown eyes piercing her very soul with intense anger.

"I understand there are people like that, Brittany," she whispered softly, large tears building up in the corner of her eye, "but when you actually _do _have people to spend it with, they should take the opportunity to, and _not_ hang out at some mall and completely forget!"

At that, Brittany couldn't help but to bow her head, shame sweeping across her like a bad 24-hour cold. She sighed heavily and removed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Why does it seem like none of you guys care?" she asked abruptly, raising her voice, having it reach the ears of the others who waited quietly in the living room. "The clock is ticking, time's almost up, and you guys aren't taking the opportunity to be together!"

Brittany narrowed her eyes to her sister, her words seeming to be out of place and deeper in meaning then what Brittany originally had thought. "Eleanor… this whole thing isn't just about spending time with you for the holiday season… is it?"

Eleanor bit her lip, swallowed hard, and cleared her phlegm-filled throat. "Whatever, not like you care!" and with that, she slammed the door shut, having a few pictures hanging on the wall collapsing to the ground, a few frames breaking in half. Brittany hid her face within her hands and released her last few tears, composed herself, and headed down the flight of stairs to meet the others, who were all eyeing Brittany with the utmost uncertainty after hearing the argument between the sisters.

"Wow…" Alvin was the first to speak, his eyes wide with disbelief. "What the hell did you guys do?"

"Nothing!" Brittany spat as she crossed her arms. "I don't know why she's taking this so hard! This isn't like her!"

On one end of the living room couch, Jeanette shook and heaved a quivering sigh that left her breathless. Her mouth opened several times, but would close with hesitation, for she was finding it hard to choose the right words to say. "I wish we didn't hold off those plans…"

In his seat, just beside her, Theodore fidgeted recklessly, his breathing slightly deep. "What if I went to talk to her?" he suggested suddenly as he stood to his feet. "Maybe I can try something…"

"What for?" Brittany asked as she shook her head about. "It's not like you have anything to be sorry for!"

Theodore released all of his breath and folded his hands into one another, readying himself for what he thought would be a lengthy explanation. "Well… she kind of does have a reason to be mad at me…"

"Theodore?" Simon called awkwardly as he gazed up at his brother, his blue eyes filled with curiosity. "Why else would she be mad?"

The spotlight was soon set upon Theodore as his muscles tensed in his body, his cheeks turning red. "It's about Tricia and the time we've been spending together…"

Alvin sighed exasperatedly and a look of disgust made his way on his face. "What did I tell you Theo?" he blurted as he stood to his feet. "You don't invite two girls over your house at the same time! You'll cause all kind of problems for yourself! Trust me, I know!"

"It wasn't like that!" Theodore retorted. "I guess… actually, I _know_ I did make some promises to her I didn't necessarily go through with… and when I didn't spend time with her, I was with Tricia! I think she might be jealous of her…" he assumed quickly.

"Why Theodore?" Simon couldn't help but to ask. "I don't understand this. Why should she be mad?"

"Tricia is an attractive girl!" Theodore had to admit, his gaze soon landing upon Eleanor's sisters. "She's funny and sweet… but she's like an annoying bug on your windshield that won't go away! I couldn't tell Tricia 'no'-" he paused suddenly, sighing at his heaviest. "But Ellie… she's a gorgeous girl that I love being around, and I didn't mean to hurt her, and I didn't want to tell her 'no' either! I swear I-"

"Theo," Brittany interrupted softly. "None of us meant to hurt her. Don't beat yourself up."

Suddenly, Alvin heaved a fit of chuckles as he rested a solid hand upon Theodore's shoulder. "That's your problem, Buddy!" he blurted suddenly as he came to a sudden recognition. "You're too nice! You didn't want to tell either of them 'no' because you didn't want to hurt their feelings!"

Coming to the unexpected realization, Theodore's face lightened up, and his expression began to fill with surprise. "Alvin… for once… I think you're right!"

"He is?" the rest of the group simultaneously replied.

Without any hesitation, Theodore nodded, a small grin making its away on his face. "It's simple! They're both nice girls, and when they both asked me if I could hang out, I told them I would be free, not wanting to hurt any of their feelings. But, all along, I wanted to be with Eleanor… and Tricia was getting in the way!"

Brittany and Jeanette exchanged glances that read astonishment, their eyes filled with awe. Was it truly possible that a caring and open-mined guy like Theodore couldn't see the big picture when it lied in front of him? All along, did he honestly care for one person and one person only? He was crazy at first, but his clouded heart knew that his Christmas love was now sobbing her heart out into her pillow just above the group of friends, and she wasn't some silver-eyed, black-haired girl from Biology. She was blonde, brown-eyed and cheerful, and her name was Eleanor.

The urge exploded from Theodore as he made his way towards the banister and up the stairs in hopes to make things right. "I have to talk to her. I have to explain to her that I want _her_ for Christmas!"

"Theo, wait!" Jeanette exclaimed as she took hold of her arm. "Maybe in a few minutes, but right now… she's pretty heated!"

"But I have to before it's too late!" and with that, he ripped out of her grasp and jogged his way up the stairs with the others following close behind.

He arrived at the door and knocked gently upon it, only to have it swiftly open on its own.

"Ellie," he called as he cautiously made his way in, his eyes skimming the perimeter of the room.

His green eyes narrowed tight as he casually walked in, his hands running along the wall. "Ellie?" he called once more as the others entered the room. Upon scanning the room, his eyes landed to the bedroom's window, which was eerily propped wide open, the curtains that dangling over the window flapping in the breeze, a few snowflakes falling to the carpeted ground. His heart stopped, fearing the worse as he made his way over to the window and gazed out onto the night filled with snow, and in the mountain of snow was a set of size 6 footprints leaving a trail down the street and disappearing in the distance.

"Guys… she gone!"


End file.
